PLAYER NOTES
–QB Aaron Rodgers did not practice on Tuesday but did practice on Wednesday as he continues to recover from a knee injury sustained in Week 1. His hope was to return from the bye week without the knee brace he’s been wearing since the injury. “If I’m completely healed, I don’t need to wear a brace,” he said. “Feel more comfortable without it obviously. Having dealt with a knee injury for much of my football life, obviously you’re more protected. You see some guys who do wear it all the time without having issues, but I just feel more comfortable without having it on. So if it’s not on that means I’m feeling great and if it is, that means I’m not quite all the way back.”
–CB Jaire Alexander practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday. After missing the last two games with a groin injury, his return would provide a big lift against the high-powered Rams offense.
–WR Randall Cobb (hamstring) has missed the last three games. WR Geronimo Allison (concussion, hamstring) has missed the last two games. They appear set to return to the lineup. Their absences allowed rookies Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown to get on the field and make key contributions, which should only help in the long run. “It’d be great” to be full strength on offense, quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “Obviously, Geronimo had a great start to the season and Randall, as well. Those nagging injuries that have kept them out have been tough on them, but they’ve been great teammates in the room, helping those guys get ready. I’m really proud of Eq and MVS of stepping up and making some big-time plays. That’s what we need them to do, to step in like they did.”
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: QB Aaron Rodgers. The Packers had never been more than an eight-point underdog in a game quarterbacked by Aaron Rodgers. The Packers opened as 8.5-point underdogs to the undefeated Rams. By Wednesday morning, the line had increased to 10 points. Offensively, Green Bay barely runs the football and its pass protection has been shoddy. Defensively, the Packers rank 23rd in yards allowed per carry and have proven vulnerable in the deep passing game.
In other words, if the Packers are going to upset the undefeated Rams, they’re going to need a monster game from Rodgers. He’s coming off back-to-back games of 420-plus passing yards and zero interceptions – a first in NFL history. But the Packers have been too inefficient to turn a lot of yards (No. 4 in total offense) into a lot of points (No. 16 in scoring). The offense should be at full strength, with the presumed returns of starting receivers Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison. Rodgers must capitalize by leading the offense to touchdowns rather than field goals.
GAME PLAN: The Packers will have their hands full on both sides of the ball. The Los Angeles offense ranks third in scoring, first in rushing and first in yards per passing attempt. Those facts are intertwined. The Rams’ Todd Gurley II leads the NFL with 686 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. His production running the ball has set up the play-action passing game. No quarterback uses play-action more than Jared Goff. That means the Packers have to stop Gurley and get the Rams into predictable down-and-distance situations.
The Los Angeles defense, meanwhile, ranks fourth in points allowed per game. Its pass rush is formidable and starts with defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s NFL-leading eight sacks. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been sacked 19 times and probably has avoided that many sacks with his enormous number of throwaways. Somehow, Green Bay’s line has to keep Donald out of the backfield so Rodgers can attack a secondary that has been proven surprisingly vulnerable.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Packers Gs Lane Taylor and Byron Bell vs. Rams DT Aaron Donald. The Rams move Donald up and down the line of scrimmage to find the best matchups. The best matchups probably will come against the Packers’ guards. Taylor, who allowed two sacks in 2016 and three sacks in 2017, already has allowed four this season, according to STATS. Bell will be making his fourth start at right guard. He’s allowed one sack this season. Donald, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has eight sacks this season, including four last week.
–Packers ILB Oren Burks and S Jermaine Whitehead vs. Rams RB Todd Gurley II. Stopping Gurley, who leads the NFL in rushing yards and scrimmage yards, will be a group effort. Burks, the team’s third-round pick, made his first NFL start before the bye. At 6-foot-3, he has the size of a linebacker. He started his career at Vanderbilt as a safety, so he has coverage experience. On passing downs, one option for defensive coordinator Mike Pettine will be using backup safety Whitehead in a linebacker role to put skill on skill.
